The Tchaikovsky Affair Read online

  As she walked off the podium to grab her purse, she heard someone calling her name.

  “Hey, McClintock!” She turned to see Evan smiling at her. “We were all thinking of grabbing a bite to eat at O’Leary’s, wanna come?”

  O’Leary’s was the epitome of a dive bar, with it’s dark and dingy décor (the owner, Jim O’Leary called it rustic charm), just blocks from their rehearsal space. They often found themselves throwing back a few pints and playing a few rounds of darts or pool to blow off steam after a long day of rehearsal.

  Shannon smiled at Evan and spared a glimpse at Jackie, who cocked her head expectantly.

  “Sorry, guys. I have no time for socializing, I have to work on my solo.”

  Diva, Jackie thought.

  * * *

  Shannon and Jackie didn’t see each other until rehearsal on Monday morning. Both spent the weekend trying desperately to keep the other woman out of their thoughts. Both tried in vain.

  Rehearsal seemed longer than usual to both of them. Of course, the 1st violin chair and 1st cello chair were on opposite sides from each other, the conductor’s podium in between. Whenever Gallo reached forward, Jackie got a glimpse of Shannon’s golden waves, and Shannon had the opportunity to watch Jackie swaying into her instrument.

  Their seemingly interminable rehearsal ended when the Philharmonic producers waltzed in, a red-haired man Shannon didn’t recognize on their heels.

  Maestro Gallo’s face broke into a wide, probably insincere, smile. “Ah, here are our lovely producers with some exciting news for all of you!”

  Shannon’s eyes lit up and her back got impossibly straighter as she eagerly awaited the news.

  The two producers stepped forward, leaving the red-haired man a few steps behind, and introduced themselves.

  “For those of you new to the ensemble, I’m Robert Carlton, and this is Melissa Washington. We are both thrilled for this season and are hoping it will be successful.”

  Robert Carlton was a tall, imposing man with a booming voice. He had black hair and a perpetual five-o’clock shadow that peppered his olive skin. Melissa Washington, on the other hand, was a stout black woman, but despite her small stature, she was every bit as imposing as Carlton. The two made an odd-looking, but effective, pair.

  “As you are all probably aware,” Melissa cut in. “The economy, for lack of a better word, sucks right now. It is luxuries like attending concerts that people are cutting out of their lives. I know we don’t consider this a luxury, but it is an unfortunate reality. We have lost many of our donors and ticket sales have been down.”

  “I know this is not what you want to hear so early in the season when the room is still filled with the buzz of excitement of new music and new family members. But, don’t fear, we have a plan to make this the best season yet and to make it so that people don’t have a choice but to come see what’s in store!” Robert finished with a flourish. He and Melissa had a lot invested in this.

  “That’s where Michael Mulroney comes in,” Melissa said, gesturing for the man behind them to step forward. “Michael is well known for his innovative arrangements of classic pieces less adventurous arrangers wouldn’t even think to touch. We heard about his creative new take on Tchaikovsky’s ‘Violin Concerto in D’ and knew we have to have him. We are incredibly lucky that he said yes.”

  Wondering where this was going, members of the orchestra began murmuring to themselves, most of them excited, some of them grumbling about learning the wrong version for no reason.

  “Mr. Mulroney, will you do the honors?” Robert asked.

  “I’d love to,” Michael replied, a slight blush darkening his already ruddy complexion. “First of all, I’d like to take a moment to say that I am honored to be working with you, and I think that together, we will create something truly innovative and magical.

  “The typical third movement of this piece is the rousing orchestral backdrop to a riveting violin solo.” Shannon grinned at the mention of the solo, her solo. “But this is, as I said, typical. It’s one of the most famous violin concertos in the world. While it is admittedly impressive when done right, and I have no doubt that Ms. McClintock would do it absolute justice, the audience will know what to suspect, and in this economic climate some may choose to simply forgo the experience all together, no matter how accurately the song is performed.”

  Shannon’s breath caught in her throat. This couldn’t be happening to her. They couldn’t be taking away her solo. She had worked far too hard for this all just to be swept out from under her. She tried to keep her breathing regular and attempted to display no emotions in front of her colleagues, in front of Jackie.

  “Don’t worry, Ms. McClintock,” Robert said. Obviously she wasn’t as nonchalant as she’d hoped. “The solo is not being taken away from you; we are just adding another dynamic. This will be difficult for you two, but we are turning the solo into a duet. As you all know, the solo is very paradoxical, almost schizophrenic, switching from lightening fast melismas to melancholic, legato passages. We want to use that paradox to our advantage and portray it as a passionate dance between two opposing instruments.

  “Therefore,” Robert continued, pausing and breathing deeply, “Ms. Jackie Ortiz will be joining Ms. McClintock in the third movement. You will both be working closely with Mr. Mulroney and Maestro Gallo to figure out the logistics. I realize this means extra work for both of you, but I trust you are both capable. I will also need to speak to both of you about the extra press we will be doing.”

  With that, Robert, Melissa, and Michael (the Three Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Shannon decided in that moment) all swiftly walked back out of the single metal door, leaving the orchestra murmuring at the exciting and slightly terrifying new change.

  Shannon lowered her head and breathed in deeply, willing her body to calm down and her mind to stop racing. When she lifted her head again she was met with Jackie’s miraculous, captivating smile.

  Shit.

  Three

  Shannon paced outside the producers’ office, absolutely livid. She tried to regulate her breathing and must have counted to ten at least five times by now.

  “You can come in, Ms. McClintock,” Robert’s voice boomed from inside.

  She walked in brusquely and was surprised to see not just the producers, but also Mulroney and Gallo.

  “Please, Shannon, have a seat,” Melissa nodded to the spare chair. “We would just like to talk to you briefly about the situation, specifically the extra press we will be doing with you and Jackie.”

  “Seriously? You only want to talk to me about the press?”

  The other four glanced at each other, before Robert answered.

  “Well, what would you like to talk about?”

  “I’d like some say in the matter!”

  “It’s really not your decision, Ms. McClintock, but we’ll humor you,” Robert conceded, not really wanting to piss off the angry concertmaster further. “What is it exactly that concerns you?”

  “Oh, wow, where do I begin? First of all, how could you not tell me ahead of time? You just blindsided me in there in front of all my colleagues, completely undermining my position in the orchestra!”

  Robert and Melissa had the decency to look slightly guilty. “You’re right, Shannon, we should have given you some notice, but we had just hours before found out that Michael here was joining our team and we were so excited, it must have just slipped our minds,” Robert answered.

  “Slipped your minds?! It just slipped your minds to tell the soloist that her career-making solo was being ripped out of her hands? And given to some unprofessional newcomer?”

  “Don’t be so dramatic, Shannon! We aren’t taking it away from you. And Jackie Ortiz is by no means unprofessional. Maybe she’s new to this ensemble, but she is one of the most talented cellists to grace these halls, and you know it!” It was Maestro Gallo who spoke this time, with much less refinement than Robert and Melissa. He cared very little about whom he offended.


  “Fine, whatever, but I highly doubt our usual patrons are going to go for this bastardization of such a revered work. Tchaikovsky would be rolling over in his grave!” Shannon started raising her voice. “No offense,” she added more quietly, braving a glance to Michael, who had yet to weigh in on this debate.

  “Oh please, don’t pretend you’re such a traditionalist. You are always barging into this office with new, innovative ways to perform concerts. You said yourself just a few weeks ago that our concerts were the same thing year after year. So now because it doesn’t suit you, you’re all of a sudden opposed to change?”

  Shannon knew she was fighting an unwinnable battle, yet she pressed on.

  “Yes, you know why? Because this was my solo, this is something I have been working towards for years. I have been waiting for this moment my whole life!”

  “Well, I’ve got news for you, Shannon,” Robert spoke at a normal level, but with a commanding presence, “you are just one part of this ensemble. Yes, you are concertmaster, and yes, you are the soloist, but it is not all about you, and it is high time you realized that.”

  “But this is my career, my life, we’re talking about!”

  “And if no one comes to this concert because they’re tired of hearing the same old concert, then you won’t have a career! So stop being so selfish and remember what is at stake here!”

  Melissa’s voice cut through the tension and effectively ended all debate. Shannon realized how pathetic she sounded.

  “Ms. McClintock,” Michael finally spoke softly and deliberately, “I can understand why you’re upset. I know you must have worked extremely hard to get to this position as a woman at your age, and I know it must have been hard to hear today during rehearsal, but I can assure you that if done right, this will be something spectacular, and you will get the recognition you deserve.”

  Shannon smiled at him, grateful that he was so understanding when she had been less than kind about his work.

  “Now that this has been settled, I trust that you will continue to act professionally with Michael, Maestro Gallo, and Jackie to work on this. You were chosen to be concertmaster, because we believe in you, Shannon. I assure you we only want what’s best for you. Now why don’t you head home and relax. We’ll talk about the press another day.”

  When Robert finished, Shannon felt a blush inch up her neck as she realized how far from professional her behavior had been. She knew apologizing was useless at this point, so she said simply, “yes, of course”.

  Jackie had been sitting outside the producers’ office, waiting for her turn. She had heard the raised muffled voices behind the door, but couldn’t quite make out the words, something for which she was very grateful. She tried to avoid drama at all costs, though she always seemed to find herself in the middle of it.

  Moments later, Shannon came bursting out the door, tears just barely at the surface of her eyes.

  “Oh, um, you can go in now.”

  “Are you okay?” Jackie asked gently.

  “What? Yeah, yeah I’m fine,” Shannon replied dismissively, before asking, “how long have you been here?”

  “Just got here,” Jackie said to appease Shannon’s nerves, but wondered what the blonde must have been saying to motivate that question.

  Shannon nodded and began to move away. As she waited for her elevator, she heard Jackie entering the room, saying “Thank you so much for this opportunity!” and the tears she was holding back began to flow freely.

  * * *

  Shannon wanted to throw the metronome out the window. Jackie, Shannon, Maestro Gallo, and Michael Mulroney had been in the tiny, windowless room with no breaks for three hours now and it was an understatement to say that they were off to a rocky start. The offensive item ticking an impossibly fast beat next to Shannon was doing nothing for her mood, or her already bruised ego. Her fingers were moving at a breakneck speed, sliding higher and unbelievably higher up the neck of her instrument. Eventually, the pace was too much, her fingers tripped over themselves, and she lost momentum entirely.

  Groaning she dropped her violin to her side and said, “Sorry, can we take it from the top of five again?”

  Shaking his head in the negative, Gallo responded with a question, “What is with you today? First, you’re zoning out and missing your cue to come in and now you’re unable to keep up to a pace that isn’t even concert tempo. This is unusual for you.”

  For once, Gallo wasn’t angry, but concerned. Shannon knew he was right; she shouldn’t be having this much trouble, but she wasn’t about to admit that she’d missed her cue because she’d been utterly transfixed by the brunette practically making love to her cello in the previous passage.

  “I’m sorry. Just nerves I guess,” Shannon answered.

  Gallo narrowed his eyes, seeing through her lie, but gestured for her to sit down. “You rest for a minute and I’ll work with Jackie on one of her passages.”

  Shannon nodded and began to flip through her score, marking areas where she needed the most help. She was so deep in concentration that she was finally able to ignore Jackie’s sensual playing mere feet away from her. Every once in a while she idly ran the eraser of her pencil along her lip, only to be replaced by her tongue when she needed to mark something.

  While in the middle of a particularly long note, Jackie looked up briefly, intending to meet Gallo’s gaze for some validation. Instead, she saw Shannon’s brow furrowed in the most adorable way possible. Her lips were slightly parted, as her tongue traced a small line over the light pink flesh. Jackie’s breath hitched in her throat and she felt her palms begin to sweat, as her bow fell from her hand and clattered on the floor.

  “What the HELL is going on with you two?”

  Both women’s heads shot up at the sound of Gallo’s booming voice. Clearly he had had enough.

  “Seriously, I don’t know what is going on here. You either both hate each other so much that it’s making you lose focus or there’s some weird sexual tension thing going on. Frankly, I couldn’t care less what the reason is, but it has got to stop! I cannot work with either of you right now.”

  Thinking he was done, Shannon began to say something in their defense, but stopped when she saw Gallo whipping out his wallet in a grand gesture. He slapped a bill on the table.

  “There. That’s $100. Go get dinner and drinks on me and talk through this situation or fuck each other senseless or whatever the hell you want to do. I don’t care! Fix it!” After that last crass remark, Gallo swiveled on his heels and strode out the door, Michael following close behind, looking bewildered and probably wondering what he had gotten himself into.

  After a few moments of collective stunned silence, Jackie began to speak, “Sooo…I guess we should, um, I mean, we don’t have to…if you don’t want to.”

  “We could just donate the money to the Philharmonic and pretend we’ve worked everything out,” Shannon said, only half-joking.

  “Oh, I don’t know, I wouldn’t want to see a perfectly good $100 go to waste, would you?” Jackie asked with a glint in her eye, a smile crawling tantalizingly slowly across her perfect lips.

  Shannon’s eyes widened imperceptibly. Was she…flirting?

  “No, of course not. And Gallo would know if we were lying. So…let’s go. To O’Leary’s,” Shannon said, mustering up a dimpled smile.

  “To O’Leary’s!”

  * * *

  Thankfully O’Leary’s was packed, the noise and bustle providing perfect distractions to the conversation they weren’t having. After ordering, the pair continued to sit in an awkward silence, each of them replaying Gallo’s last words to them.

  “Can I ask you a question?” Jackie finally asked.

  “Of course!” Shannon replied brightly.

  “Why do you hate me?”

  “What?” Shannon breathed, her smile faltering. “I don’t hate you,” she whispered.

  “Because, I understand why you’re upset. I’d be upset if I were in your po
sition, too. It wasn’t fair what they did to you,” Jackie continued, ignoring Shannon’s protest, “but that wasn’t my fault, and you seemed to dislike me long before any of this happened. I know I’m a newcomer, but I just – ”

  “I don’t hate you, Jacinta!” Shannon said forcefully, cutting of Jackie’s rant. “I don’t hate you,” she said for a third time.

  “Then what is it?”

  “It’s just…there’s a lot of pressure on me to succeed, to be perfect, to be poised and professional and cheerful at all times, and I’ve been taking that out on you. I’m sorry.”

  Jackie got the distinct feeling that this was a slight cop-out, but didn’t want to push the issue. During her confession, Shannon had placed her right hand on the table and lowered her head slightly. Jackie covered Shannon’s hand with her own and began to speak softly.

  “Hey, it’s okay. I couldn’t do what you do every day and still have the energy to deal with the annoying new girl who comes in late to the first rehearsal,” Jackie joked, flashing her a wide smile.

  “Thanks,” Shannon said. Jackie nodded and sat back in her chair, pulling her hand with her.

  She had a smirk on her face when she said, “So Gallo thinks there’s some sexual tension between us, huh? We should really play that up – it would make the duet that much more dynamic.”

  The combination of the two glasses of wine Shannon had already consumed and the lingering feeling Jackie’s hand on her own had created, caused Shannon to blurt out suddenly, “Gallo wasn’t wrong!” She took a deep breath and her eyes widened. “At least, not on my side.”

  Internally Jackie’s heart and mind were performing an enthusiastic happy dance. On the outside, Jackie remained stoic, wanting to tease more information out of the usually composed blonde.